YouTube’s Next Live Star: You and Your Bros, Playing Call of Duty

Google’s video giant will let Call of Duty players stream their exploits directly to the site, in real time, when Activision launches the newest version of the franchise next week.

You can read about the details here, but the gist is that if you’re so inclined, you’ll be able to watch gamers in multiplayer Call of Duty: Black Ops II matches blow each other up live, for free.

And if you’re not inclined, rest assured that there are a bunch of people who probably are.

Replays of “in-game” footage are a YouTube mainstay, and make up a big chunk of the views on Machinima, one of YouTube’s most popular channel/networks. And live gaming is a biggish deal, too: Earlier this year, YouTube garnered thousands of eyeballs for a live World of Warcraft launch event, which featured footage of players around the globe slashing and hacking.

So this is a pretty straightforward win/win for Google and Activision: One side gets free content, the other side gets free promotion. Free labor, too, courtesy of you and all your pals who paid $60 apiece for the new game.

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